Hiding Place to Favorite Place
by avidreader96
Summary: While Loki is running from the Avengers, he impulsively decides to duck into a salon, and ends up having an impromptu spa day. He's unsure at first, and doesn't like being touched by Midgardians, but after just ten minutes, decides maybe there really is an exception to everything. And he really does like this shade of green nail polish. Oneshot.


Loki is running, hard. Probably there's a spell somewhere he could use to get away faster, but he's so bone tired at this point, he can't even think straight let alone find a way to recharge his magic; he wouldn't survive a spell right now.

But he's still running from the Avengers. Somehow Loki has gotten lucky and they reached a stalemate, at which point he managed to slip away, but they're back on his tail. He takes the left turn up ahead tightly, then promptly smashes into some stupid Midagardian boy on one of their two wheeled contraptions. Truly, they must be a menace to everyone around.

Loki glances up and happens to see a strange sign just in front of him. Reading _"Do you need to relax? To recharge? Come on in for a discount spa day!"_ Loki gets a rueful on smile on his face as he thinks _yeah, if only I had time for that._ Besides, he doesn't like Midgardian things anyway.

He gets up and realizes the Avengers aren't far behind – his fall allowed them to catch up. Suddenly ducking into this place of business doesn't sound like such a bad idea. At least no one would suspect him of every even contemplating entering.

Loki steps into the building and is promptly greeted by a dark-haired woman.

"Hello, sir, how may I help you today?"

Loki is taken aback for a second. It's been a long time since someone has been so polite. And this woman isn't even questioning his strange garb.

"Um, I'm here for the discount…thing." He tells her, uncertain of the word for it.

"The spa day?" she asks kindly.

"Yes, that's the one."

"Great! If you'd like, just a pick a nail polish color off the wall for your mani-pedi."

Loki doesn't know what that means, but he turns to his right to see a wall of shelves full of a wide range colored bottles. He leans closer and reads _Nail Lacquer_ , before deciding it doesn't matter anyway; he's just here to avoid the Avengers. On impulse, he chooses a dark green, and follows the woman from the front of the business down a hallway.

The Avengers race by, and not once do they take notice of the salon.

The woman, Loki can't remember her name, leads him to a private room and tells him he can remove his clothes – still not commenting on their disheveled and dirty state – and a masseuse will be with him soon.

He's not sure he'll like this, but he desperately wants to be rid of the heavy armor; he can feel the beating his body has taken starting to make its presence known. Once he's down to nearly nothing, he realizes he has no idea what to do. He notices some pictures of people on the wall. Upon closer inspection, he finds that they are lying on a strange surface similar to the one in this room. He mimics their position, throwing the towel over himself, and feeling quite foolish but lying down just feels _so good._

When the door opens, a different woman walks in. She turns on some soft classical music, and Loki is starting to find this to be quite relaxing.

That's when the woman starts massaging his back.

"By Odin's Beard! That feels lovely." He says, surprising himself, but the woman doesn't even respond.

Normally he doesn't like Midgardians, or being touched by Midgardians, but he starts to think this may be an okay exception.

Loki's tired muscles are already feeling much better by the time she moves away again. He thinks she's done, but instead she opens a pot on the table beside her. It speaks to his exhaustion that he hadn't noticed before.

He gets a bit apprehensive when she uses tongs to remove a hot stone, but decides to trust this establishment, as it has been very nice thus far. When the first stone touches his skin, he lets out a long and satisfied sigh. He thinks maybe he hears the woman giggle a bit this time, but he can't find it within himself to care.

After this treatment is done, the woman leaves, telling him to put on the robe hanging on a hook on the door. When Loki sits up, his muscles everywhere protest, but not as much as the usual after a battle. He puts on the robe, finding it to be very soft.

The first woman who greeted him returns shortly after and guides him to a different room.

"How was your massage, sir?"

"It was…unexpectedly nice." He tells her honestly.

"Well, I hope the rest of your experience here exceeds expectations. There aren't any other clients here at the moment, so you're our sole focus."

He gets slightly apprehensive since he doesn't know what else he's in for.

It turns out, he's getting his feet and hands massaged as well.

They sit him in a chair with a strange basin at the foot. It's filled with hot water, and when he sits, one of the other women brings him a cup of water. After he sips it, she shows him how to control the massage chair he's sitting in, and he finds a very comfortable setting.

After his feet soak for a moment, feeling heavenly, a woman sits on the stool facing him, and reaches for his feet.

"What are you – " but he stops when she forcefully takes them and starts massaging.

He's starting to wonder why he's never done this before.

Another woman appears, and sits to the side of him, before beginning work on his hands. They rub on lotions and scrubs, before filing and shaping his nails. He's not sure the purpose of this piece, but he's too content to question it, just sips his water and relaxes.

He dozes off a bit, and just lets them manipulate his hands and feet. When he realizes they're done, he looks down to see his fingernails and toenails all painted the shade of green he chose earlier.

Loki finds he kind of likes it.

The first woman leads him back to a changing room, where he finds his clothes cleaned up a bit, and he redresses.

When he walks to the front again, the woman tells him that with the special and their first-time customer discount, he owes $45. He remembers the Midgardian money he had found earlier that day, and had chosen to pick up for unknown reasons.

He finds that the money consists of a 50 and 5, and he doesn't feel like handling Midgardian money, so just gives it all to her. When she seems satisfied, he determines it was enough.

"Thank you, ladies." Loki says, as they had all gathered in the front, preparing to close up for the day.

When Loki walks out, he feels more powerful and genuinely confident than he has in a long time. For the next two weeks, he smiles whenever he looks down at the green nail polish. After it chips almost completely off, he decides to return.

And that's how Loki became a regular customer at a salon in New York, right under the Avengers' noses.


End file.
